Johnson v. Kerns

141 N.E. 573, 247 Mass. 92, 1923 Mass. LEXIS 1215
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedNovember 28, 1923
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 141 N.E. 573 (Johnson v. Kerns) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Kerns, 141 N.E. 573, 247 Mass. 92, 1923 Mass. LEXIS 1215 (Mass. 1923).

Opinion

Pierce, J.

The decree appealed from, omitting the caption and the time and place of the sitting of the court, reads: On the petition of George W. Johnson of Bridgeport in the State of Connecticut praying that the decree of this court dated March 18, 1921, allowing the will of Anna J. Borden, late of Fall River in said county, deceased, and appointing John A. Kerns executor thereof be vacated. All persons interested having had due notice of said petition, and objection being made and after hearing, it appearing to the court that the petitioner had notice that said instrument was to be offered for probate and without sufficient excuse therefor neglected to enter his appearance on or before the return day and it not appearing that any fraud was practised on the petitioner or on the court and no evidence having been presented which would justify setting aside said [95]*95will and the allegations of the petition not having been proved, it is decreed that said petition be dismissed.”

At the conclusion of the voluminous evidence, which is reported, the petitioner presented written requests for rulings and findings of fact. Thereupon the judge, in substance, found that on March 18,1921, the will of Anna J. Borden was allowed by the judge of probate on the testimony of one witness; that no appearance had been entered against the probate of the will; that it appeared to the court that no person interested in the estate intended to object to the probate of the will; that the respondent, John A. Kerns, who presented the'will, had no notice or knowledge that any such person intended to object; that the petitioner for the probate of the will inserted in the petition for the probate of the will, as the heirs at law, the uncle and cousins of the deceased; that the names of the cousins were erroneously inserted, as the uncle was the sole heir and next of kin; that Judge Alger before the probate of said will said to John A. Kerns, the respondent, “You set forth cousins here and there is an uncle . . . the cousins are not heirs, they should not have been set forth,” and that Kerns did not say anything in reply; the judge refused to find, as requested by the petitioner, that “ John A. Kerns did inform the petitioner that all the cousins and he as the only surviving uncle were the heirs at law on March 2,1921, the day of the funeral in Fall River.”

The judge further found that “ on March 1,1921, John A. Kerns obtained the names of the cousins, whose names were inserted in the petition as heirs at law, from Mrs. Mary S. Johnson [¡the wife of a cousin of the testatrix] and Martha Stapleton [a cousin of the testatrix] and he believed that the cousins and the uncle were the heirs at law and so informed Mrs. Mary S. Johnson and she afterwards told the petitioner what Mr. Kerns had said; ” “ that after the funeral the petitioner [sic]

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Related

Reynolds v. Remick
127 N.E.2d 653 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1955)
Kelley v. Peters
12 N.E.2d 184 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1937)
Hilton v. Hopkins
175 N.E. 162 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1931)

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Bluebook (online)
141 N.E. 573, 247 Mass. 92, 1923 Mass. LEXIS 1215, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-kerns-mass-1923.